A BANKSY ART SHOW OPENS IN ROME

ROME — For more than two decades, the British street artist Banksy has covertly — and often illicitly — stenciled his often politically tinged statements on the walls of structures worldwide, shielded by anonymity.

Now the tables have turned, perhaps, with the opening on Tuesday in Rome of “War Capitalism & Liberty,” a survey of Banksy’s art at the Palazzo Cipolla that its organizers describe as unauthorized by the artist.

“Please note, the artist known as Banksy is not associated or involved in this museum show,” reads a note accompanying the exhibition, which was conceived and realized by the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro-Italia e Mediterraneo, a nonprofit organization that supports projects in the arts and other fields.

The more than 100 artworks, not including 68 record and CD covers, in the show were lent by private collectors. Many of them were clients of Acoris Andipa, a Banksy collector and one of the show’s curators, and a dealer of Banksy’s commercial art through his gallery in Knightsbridge, London.

“Riot Cop,” by the street artist Banksy, in the “War Capitalism & Freedom” exhibition at Rome’s Palazzo Cipolla. CreditVincenzo Pinto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

 “It’s lovely to actually see them all back again, because pretty much all of them once upon a time came from me, from my collection,” Mr. Andipa said of the works.

The show includes the whimsical — there are several copies of “Girl With Balloon,” perhaps his best-known piece — as well as social commentary and satire, like the work “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” which is also the title of Banksy’s puzzling 2010 film.

Despite his escalating fame, and the accompanying media exposure, Banksy has managed to keep his identity a secret, even as attempts to determine who he might be have become more sophisticated.

In recent months, he haspainted murals at the migrant camp in Calais, France, and opened a temporary outdoor “theme park” called Dismalandon the English coast.

There have been exhibitions of Banksy’s work in the past, most notably at the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery in 2009, but the organizers of the Palazzo Cipolla show say theirs is largest comprehensive survey yet.

“The exhibit symbolizes the fundamental concepts of Banksy’s vision,” said Emmanuele Francesco Maria Emanuele, the chairman of the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro. “Capitalism in crisis; war, which is a consequence; and the notion of freedom that must continue to live inside us independently from the world that surrounds us.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/arts/design/a-banksy-art-show-opens-in-rome.html?_r=0